Feeding apparatus for bottle-caps, &amp;c.



' 5. P. WETMORE. FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOTTLE CAPS, 6w.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 26, 1911.

Patented. Feb. 10, 1914.

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WITNESSES A an;

E. P. WETMORE. FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOTTLE CAPS, Sic.

AIPLIOATION FILED APR. 26, L911. 1,086,429. Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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WITNES SES E. P. WBTMORB. FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOTTLE GAPS, &u.

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WITNESSES EARL P. WETMORE, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

'To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EARL P. W'nrMonn, of Toledo, Lucas county, Ohio, have invented a new'andjus'eful Feeding Apparatus for Bottle-Gaps, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference pgbeing had to "the accompanying drawings,

-l1opper. The inner end of this drum is cut forming part .of this which- Figure 1 is a vertical section of the prespecification, in

ferred form of feeding apparatus embodymy invention; Fig. 2 is a side View of the sa me,'partly broken away; Fig. 3 is a side View showing certain parts; Fig. 4 is a section on the line lV lvof Fig. 3; Fig. 5 1s ayiew of a portion of the device showing a modificatlon; and Flg. 6 1s a sectional view illustrating the selective action on.th'e'ar-- ticl'es' being fed.

-My invention has relation to apparatus for feeding articles orblanks which have portions of different diameters, andwhich mustbe delivered by the apparatus in a certain predetermined position,- being especially adapted to the feeding of metallic caps or seals for bottles, and fo'rthefeeding of blanks used in the manufacture of such caps or seals, although it may be used for other purposes.

The nature of niy'invent ion will best be understood by reference to' the accompanying drawings, which will now be described,

it being premised, however, that various changes can be ma'de'in the details of construotion and arrangement of the parts by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims. 9

In these drawings, the numeral 9. designates a hopper, inwhich the articles to be fed are deposited promiscuous ly in bulk. This hopper has a lower supporting portion 3, which is adapted to rest upon 'anysuitable support. Arranged within the hopper *at'theforward side thereof is a stationary drum' or partition t of frust-o-conical form, and which is. set in the forward side of the away at its lower half,as shown at 5, to ad- Initthe articles from the hopper, being dire'etedto this opening by inclined plate 6, ,wh ich,-.together with the bottom-portion of 4 the -driim,-vconstitutes' thei bottoin of the hopper. i.

7 desi i ates a Tags; assent, which is bolted to a flange 8 atithejlowerf front-por J Specification of Letters Iatent.

Application filed April 26, 1911. Serial No. 623,497.

caps or other articles into the FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOTTLE-CAPS, &o. i i

Patented Feb. 10, 1

tion of the hopper, and which is, provided with a plurality of forwardlyprojecting arms or spokes 9, which suppoit'aring 10," whlch is of larger diameter than"the'iring v7" 0 and is located in front of the, same.

11 is another ring or annulus, whichis placed parallel and concentric with th e 1fi'ng' l 10, and held in proper relation theretofby' means of screws 12 or other suitable means; The two rings :10 and 11 are also separated from each other theproper distance to form cap runways by means of interposed strips 12?. .These strips also form guides, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for directing the two feed. chutes 13. a 5 T 14 designates a hollow sha'ftfwhich' eX- tends through the lower" portiono'f the hop 7 per, and through the central portion of the drum l. Mounted in this hollow shaftfisi another shaft 15. The shaft let at its rear e nd, exterior of the hopper, carries a spur gear 16, which. is arranged to mesh with a spur gear 17 on another 'shaftlS extending into the lower portion of the hopper and carrying a bevel gear 19 which nieshes with a bevel gear 20 on a driving shaft 21. The shaft 21 may be driven in'any snitableanan ner (not shown). The shaft 15 has secured g5 thereto a spur gear 22, which meshes with aj gear 22*, which is connected to the shaft' IS f r by a spring-pressed clutch The gear; wheel 17 is loose on the shaft 18, and ee'nnected to the gear wheel"'22by nieans oflgo pins 24:, whereby both gears 17 and 22 f are driven from the shaft l8.- These two gt together with the gears 16' and 229m. it? ditt erent diameters, whereby the shafts 14;] and 15 will be driven at diiierent rates of '95 speed. l

Secured to the front end o't the hollowshaft to rotate therewith is a drum 25, which is entirely open at its frontend, and whicl'if has the flaring wall 26. Secured to the front end of the shaft 15 is a diskQT, having" at its periphenl portion a plurality of 1-enwardly projecting selector pins 28. 29 is a ring, which is placed parallel. with the peripheral portim: of'the dislrQT, and

which is connected thereto by the selector.

pins 28. The inner edge of the ringf29 fits more or less closely the outer periphery of the flaring wall 26 of the drum QSJ Th'ef pins'28 are larger in diamoteratjo ie end-" than at the other, to cause them to 'ha-vej a selecting action upon the articles p as shown'in Fig. 6. In this figure I have shown three bottle caps or seals A, which are in proper position to pass between the pins,

.a fourth cap B being shown in the wrong position to pass between said pins, inasmuch as Its flange of larger diameter than its body is unable to pass between the enlarged porpass from the drum at. The rear end of the drum 25 has an eXteriorly projecting flange 34, which turns closely adjacent to the frontend of the drum 4.

is a p'late,'which is attached to the rear side of the flange 3st, and which serves to lift the caps or other articles upwardly from the bottom of the drum 4, so that they will fall through thesegmental openings 33, and into the open end of the drum 25.

36 is a sprocket wheel, which is arranged to turn loosely on -a pin or shaft 37, between the top portions of the rings 10 and 11, the teeth of this wheel being-arranged to mesh with the selector pins 28.

' The disk or plate-27 is preferably perforated by a number of holes 38, as shown in Fig. 2, in order to permit observation of the caps within the drum 25, and this plate is also preferably formed with a plurality of strengthening ribs 39.

a0 is a spring, which is arranged to pro ject into the upper portion of the cap space ell, outside of the selector pins, and which leads to the chutes 13. The sprocket wheel 36 actsto loosen any caps which may become wedged between the inner edge of the drum 25 and the plate or disk 27. Any such caps will be struck by the teeth of the sprocket and knocked loose, and will fall back into the drum, the sprocket being constantly rotated by its engagement with the selector pins. The spring 40 is added for the purpose of preventing one or more caps from riding on the outside of the selector pin and coming in contact with the sprocket. This only occurs in a case of defective caps, and in such cases, the lower end of the spring has a tendency to snap the caps backwardly and allow them to pass out through the chutes below. or cause them to fall in between two of the selector pins, where the teeth of the sprocket will push them back into the drum. Without the provision of this spring or its equivalent, the caps might possibly become jammed between the selector pins and the teeth of the sprocket, outside of the disk 27.

The operation will be readily understood. By reason of the gearing described, both the drum 25 and the plate or disk 27 will be caused to revolve in the same direction, but either the drum or the plate may be caused to revolve at a little higher speed. is the caps are fed into the drum 25,- and are tumbled about so as to present themselves in the proper position to pass between the selector pins, and between the periphery portion of the disk 27 and ring 29, the difference in the speed ofthe rotation of the drum and plate 27 has a tendency to cause the mass of caps within the rotating drum to rearrange themselves much 'more readily than isthe case where the parts are revolved at the same speed, and practically shows that by the provision of this difference in speed the caps will feed very much faster than is the case when all the parts revolve as a unit. As the caps pass between the selector pins, they enter the cap space or chamber 41, which they fill to a greater or less extent, as clearly shown in F ig. 2, and thence feed by gravity downwardly into the feed chutes 13. The purpose of providing the two feed chutes is to enable the feeder to simultaneously supply two different tools, such' as two capping heads of a bottle caps ping machine. The same apparatus may, however, be arranged to fit a single chute 13, as clearly shown in Fig. 5', by a slight change in the construction of the casing and of the guide strips.

My invention provides a feeding apparatus of the character described, by means of which caps, blanks, or other similar articles, may be deposited in bulk promiscuously in the hopper, and may be rapidly fed in the correct position to either one of a plurality of tools for performing further operations on the caps or other articles. It will be understood, of course, that the form of the selecting pins may be modified to suit the particular makes being fed, and that various other changes may be made in the details of construction ,and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is 1. In feeding apparatus of the character described,v a rotating drum and a rotating selector plate, together with means for ro tating the drum and plate in the same direction at different relative speeds; substantially as described.

2. In a feeding apparatus of the character described, a hopper, a rotary drum into which the articles are delivered from the hopper, and which is open at its forward end, and a selector platev adjacent to the open end of the drum, together with means for rotating said plate and drum in the same direction, at different relative speeds; substantially as described.

3. In feeding apparatus of the character described, a hopper having a stationary drum or chamber within its lower portion, and communicating therewith, a rotary drum into which the first named drum is arranged to discharge, and which is open at its forward end, and a selector plate adjacent to the open end of the drum, together with means for rotating the selector plate and drum in the same direction at different relative speeds; substantially as described.

1. In feeding apparatus of the character described, a feed hopper, a rotary drum having openings communicating with the lower portion of the feed hopper and open at its front end, a selector plate or disk opposite the open front end of the drum and having peripheral selecting passages for the caps, and means for rotating said plate and drum in the same direction at different relative speeds; substantially as described.

In feeding apparatus of the character described, a feed hopper, a hollow shaft extending through the lower portion of the hopper, a drum secured on said shaft to rotate therewith, another shaftextending through the hollow shaft, a selector plate carried by the last named shaft and arranged to cooperate with the drum, and gearing for rotating one shaft at one speed and the other shaft at a different speed; substantially as described.

In feeding apparatus of the character described, a feed hopper, a rotary drum, through openings in the rear end of which the hopper communicates, said drum being open at its forward end, a selectorplate or disk adjacent to the open end of the drum and having a plurality of selector pins, and a sprocket wheel adapted to be engaged and rotated by said pins, and means for rotating the drum at one speed and the selector plate at a different rate of speed; substantially as described.

7. In feeding apparatus of the character described, a feed hopper, a rotary feed drum having openings communicating with the hopper and open at its front end, a selector plate having a plurality of selecting channels at its peripheral portion and arranged adjacent to the open end of the drum, and a cap-receiving space or chamber into which the said channels are arranged to discharge, together with means for rotating the drum at one speed, and the plate at a different rate of speed; substantially as described.

8. In an automatic feeding apparatus for bottle sealing machines, a hopper for the indiscriminate reception of the bottle caps and having an internal chamber, a hopper also having an inclined bottom adapted to lead the caps into said chamber, and a receptacle or drum rotating outside of said hopper and the chamber, said drum having an opening in the end adjoining said cham ber adapted to receive the caps indiscriminately from the chamber, said drum having.

a select-or plate forming a closure for its opposite end and provided with a. plurality of selector pins spaced. and formed in a manner to permit the bottle caps to pass therethrough in one position only, together with means for driving the drum and selector plate in the same direction but at different rates of speed relatively to each other; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

EARL P. \VETMORE.

Witnesses M. J. GAVIN, W. H. Mimics. 

